Gutter hanger



l fr f l C. MEUNiE'R GUTTER HANGER AFiled Jan. 25, 1925 Patented Feb. 9, 1926.

UNITED vsrarss CHARLES MEUNIER, 0F GREAT NECK, YRK.

GUTTER HANGER.

' Application filed January 25, 1923. Serial No. 614,879,

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, CHARLES MEUNIER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Great Neck, Long Island, in the county of Nassau and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Gutter Hanger, of which the following is a full, clear, vand exact description. i

This invention relates to gutter hangers, such as are utilized in connection with the supporting of gutters adjacent to the roofs of buildings, and more particularly aims to provide a self-clinching hanger relative to the longitudinal bead at aside edge of the gutter, which bead is generally at the jouter side of the gutter.' It should be understood, however, at the outset, that the invention is not necessarily to be limitedtol a `gutter hanger embodiment solely adapted for use in connection with a beaded gutter of the type last mentioned. As will be hereinafter pointed out very clearly in the appended claims, the new hanger is susceptible to many apparently widely different embodiments from the preferred embodiment illustrated in the drawing.

It is an object of the invention to provide a device of the character described which is adapted to have portions not only for embracing the gutter bottom exterior, that is, for underlying or cradling the gutter, but also forstraddling the top of the gutter trough and thus for bracing and further taking partin the support and rigidifying of the gutter. Otherwise stated, the kind of gutter hanger provided is of the well-known metallic strap type, including principally a longitudinal sub-division curved to act as a cradle for the bottom of the gutter, a longitudinal sub-division to act as a brace-bar overlying the top of the gutter, and a longitudinal sub-division shaped to embrace the gutter bead; in combination with a suspensory strip riveted or otherwise suitably secured at its lower end to the main strap aforesaid, usually at a point intermediate the length of the brace-bar. According to this well-known construction, the upper portion of the suspensory strip is suitably attachedto an overlying cornice part of the roof over the cornice box, or otherwise, ac* cording to the architecture of the particular building being equipped with a gutter. As in previously suggested constructions of this kind, also, the hanger of the present invention has its gutter-engaging strap and suspensory strip preferably formed of. a metal easily flexible yet strong and resistant to corrosive defects of the elements, such as sheet copper; especially where a copper gutter is to be mounted, to preclude any possibility of ga-lvanic action between gutter and hanger.

The prime object of the invention will be most clearly understood by those. skilled .in the art, when it .is stated that it is the aim to provide a hanger as above characterized, for use as above -mentioned in connection with a gutterhaving its edge bead at its outer side, and. of such a construction that the same, or more correctly, the gutter-embracing'I or main strap maybe one-piece in construction, like the earlier and well-known Peerless hanger, and yet really lclinchable on the gutter' bead, like the later and equally well-known two-piece Rex hanger of the prior art. Y

An almost equally important object o-f the invention is thus to provide a novel structure'of the kindijust indicated, but one wherein the relatively high cost of manufacture of the Rex hanger is diminished considerably, the need for special or any tools at all for clinching the hangertothe gutter bead is eliminated, and hence therey is provided a self-clinching hanger, and yet the new hanger will function when applied, and

merely by hand, to grip the gutter bead more tightly and securely than heretofore and by a permanent seizure of practically the entire girth of the bead. i

A rather important advantage-incident to the preferred manner of carrying out the invention to attain the above objects, is `the fact that a. hanger is provided which may be stored and packed at a maximum 'saving of bulk, or such a saving at least equal to that permitted in the case of the Peerless and Rex hangers above mentioned.

In carrying out the invention to attain all the 4ends and advantages enumerated, the bead-olinching length of the unitary main strap is shaped and treated to establish an inherent but predeterminedly localized region of bend, or rather a plurality of such regions which have dissimilar and relatively graduated` pronenes'ses to flexure, in combination with` a shaping ofthe cradle-length of the main strap and the adjoining portion of the bead-clinching length to establish their meeting point as a sharp, stiff edge or corner, and to establish the cradle-length as a lever of gradually diminishing rigidity away from the fulcrum of thelever, which fulcrum, a floating one, is on said edge.

The invention will be more clearly understood from a reference to the accompanying drawing, showing the preferred embodimentV p `ing at the right of Fig. 1 at about the poini aforesaid.

In this drawing, Yin which 'similar reference, charactersr refer to similar parts throughout the several views, y

Fig. 1 shows the new hanger in side elevation, with its `suspensory strip bent down flat closely to overlie the vunitary main strap, as for storage or transportation;

Fig. 2. is a bottomplan view of the hanger as arranged in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation` illustrating the main strap of the hanger in couise of being engaged Vwith a gutter, such gutter being shown in transverse section; and

Fig. l is a view generally similar to Fig. 3, but showing the hanger completely ap plied and the gutter suspended from a roof by the suspensory strip.

For the benefit of those unacquainted with the above-mentioned Peerless and Rex hangers of the prior art, it may be explained thatthe Peerless hanger includes, like the present hanger, amain strap 5 anda riveted suspensory strip 6; and also, as to the main strap, a terminal transverse crimp 7, a slot 8 at the bottom of the latter for later receiving and resiliently engaging the other terminus 9 of the main strap, a bead-engaging arch 10, and a median longitudinal slot 11 at thel arch. TheRex hanger is constructed likethe Peerless hanger, but the former has itsmain strap made in two parts; one part providingy the arch 10=and a length to the left ofv the arch and.` corresponding to the length 12,01" Fig. 1, and the otherl part' providing the length 14 to the right ofthe arch in said Fig.,.1.v The object of this 'special A,Rex construction was to provide, a special ii'iturned claw. to wedge in between the inner underexternal periphery ofthe gutter bead and the contiguous exterior of the gutter proper, asfper the dot-and-dash indie-ation marked R in Fig. 1. lVhere the twov parts ofthe Rex main strap overlapped they were riveted together. l

According to the present invention, however,A an embodiment thereof, for instance that shown in the drawing, attains all the objects and advantages sought, by provid# ing merely a one-piece main strap 5, and incorporating therein, preferably by a forming die, a shaping in the vicinity of the adjoining portions of archl 10 and .length 14 and of the contiguous end of slotV 11, as shown, thereby to-establish at the poi-ntl as sharp a corner as good die design and the quality factor of the material of the blank will'permit, and at the same time to establish a central rib or Iswell 17. This rib is preferably so associated with slot 11 and the surrounding and adjacent portions of the main' strap 5, as to impart a number of' special characteristics to the new hanger as contemplated by the invent-ion. Thus, in the first place, the slot 11 preferably start indicated by the head of arrow A, there i: established a locale of maximum flexibilit) for the arch 10 running around the arch tf the right from the left end of said slot, tf

a point intermediate the ends of the slot op posite the lirst slight beginning of rib 17. Therebeyond, still running` around the arch to the right, the arch gradually diminishes in flexibility pursuant to the gradual rise in height and increase in lateral dimension of the rib. rlhe point of maximum stiffness is reached at a point about opposite the sharp corner 16. Beyond this point for some distance Lthe length 1-l is of sufficient stiffness to convert the saine in effect into a rigid lever; yet, at a suitable point, found to be ideal when located as shown in the drawing, and after a gradual diminution of stiffness; along length 1+i- -away yfrom corner 16, the length 14.1A becomes fully restored toV its usual high degree of flexibility..

As y has heretofore been proposed, the length 12 of the main strap is provided-with rigidifying sideA lips 20.

1n operation the new hanger is applied to the gutter entirely by hand, as follows: First, the length 1 is bent down out of the plane of length 19., as substantially perpendicular thereto, andk thehanger is laid on the guttcr`18 as shown in Fig. 3, that is, with the crimp? taking the inner unbeaded edge yof the gutter and 'the arch 10 overlying the outer bead 19. Next, the 'lower portion of length 14e, is grasped. and pulled and swung toward` the left as shown in Fig.y 3; the corner 1G acting not only asy a wedging device, but also as a floating fulcrum for the lever portionof lengthl'lll at the rib 17. The zone of excessive lbent coincident with about the mid-portion ofgarchy 10, simultaneouslyvai'id automatically wraps itself tight` ly around .the vcontacted portion of themore or less resilient gutter bead l19; the corner 16 andsuch Zone cooperating to self-clinch the hanger tothe gutter,-wliich clinching is completed -and made absolutely vpermanent as the result. of a further bending of length 1li sufficiently to finally establish the rsame as a cradle element shown at 14 in Fig. 1l. kSaid length 14 is locked as `such by drawing the terminus 9 of length 14e through slot S on crimp 7, andthen bending such terminus down by hand as illustrated at 9. The rigidifying side lips 2O of stripclinching length 12, especially When shaped adjacent the arch as shown, help considerably in constricting the neck of the contracted arch 10. It has been found that a one-piece hanger of the above construction inay be applied instantly, and solely by hand as just described, and yet is absolutely accidentally iinniovable along the length of the gutter.

Noting that the strip 6 may be used in any desired Way ior suspending each hang er froin Aan overlying part of the building,

for instance, by shaping the strip and screvving the free end thereof to a pitched shingle roei 2l as indicated in Fig. 4f, it Will be seen that there has been provided an embodiment of the invention truly a seltene-piece structure, and one adapted to attain all the various ends and objects ot the invention as hereinabove eX- pressed and indicated.

Various slight changes might of course be inade in the general forin and arrangement of the parts described Without departing from the invention, and hence I do not limit inyselfto the precise details stated, but consider niysel'f at liberty to make Vsuch changes gutter, said strap having a resilient arched portion at one end 'of said rigid portion,;the resilient arched portion being designed to be bent to snugly iit around the bead of the gutter, said strap also having a cradle por.

tion designed to underlie the gutter, the juncture of the cradle portion and the arched portion being relatively stiff and4 unyielding, and the cradle portion adjacent the juncture also being su'Hiciently stii and unyielding to insure proper bending of the arched portion around and into snug engagenient with the bead of the gutter when the cradleportion is moved up against the bottom of the gutter, the end of the cradle portion being engaged With the rigid p0-r tion. j

CHARLES MEUNIER. 

